From El-Yakub Dabai, Birnin Kebbi
The Kebbi State Cash support project, Kebbi Cares, has set aside Three Billion Naira to be distributed to fifteen thousand people to support their businesses with a view of eliminating poverty amongst them.
Flagging off the disbursement of N200,000 to each person of the first batch of 1,500 beneficiaries in Birnin Kebbi, Governor Nasir Idris affirmed that his administration would provide necessary support and priority to achieve high impact of the objective of the scheme.
Governor Idris advised the beneficiaries of the disbursement to invest the money in gainful ventures to generate income for self reliance, stressing that independent verification agents from tbe World Bank and Staff of the Ministry of Budget would monitor the utilisation of the money to ensure that the funds were not diverted to other use
The State Chief Executive gave an assurance that he would continue to source for resources within and outside Nigeria to bring home for the benefit of people of the State but however warned officials entrusted with the disbursement against diverting the funds as defaulters would face full wrath of the law.
He reminded the gathering that the disbursement of the funds was one of the cardinal objectives of his administration carefully tailored towards reducing poverty at grassroots through the provision of employment to the teeming youth as well as supporting small and medium scale enterprises.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Dr Abba Sani Kalgo, said in addition to the cash disbursement some small scale farmers would get solar powered irrigation machines, power tillerss, herbisides, pesticides amongst many other to cost of farming and sustain food production in the state.
The Commissioner revealed that the disbursement of N200, 000 to fifteen thousand beneficiaries to support or start their business was the first of its kind since the creation of the state and therefore promised to justify the confidence the Governor reposed in them by complying with his directives of judicious utilization of the funds.
